Book Review: Aftershock

“The only time the world cared about rules was when you lost. If you won, any infractions became invisible.”

Aftershock, by Adam Hamdy, is the final installment in the author’s Pendulum Trilogy which started with Pendulum and continued with Freefall. These all action crime thrillers provide plenty of food for thought alongside fire, suspense and entertainment. Concluding a complex web of storylines to the satisfaction of both new and existing readers requires verve and skill. With Aftershock, the author delivers.

The story opens with Detective Patrick Bailey – now leader of a Metropolitan Police task force established to disable and dismantle the elusive Foundation – being brought back to consciousness by vicious assailants. They wish him to watch while they kill his girlfriend. Physically and emotionally damaged by the resulting nightmare of an experience, he calls upon the few friends he can trust to assist him without question as he seeks retribution.

Across the Atlantic, FBI agent Christine Ash is struggling with trust issues. She too is leading a special task force that is tracking down and neutralising the remnants of the Foundation. Unable to shake off her memories of being held hostage, and the treatment she was subjected to, she remains wary of potential infiltrators on her team. When she refuses to divulge plans and sources she leads them into a deadly situation from which she emerges with self knowledge that horrifies her.

In various prisons, apprehended Foundation members are attempting to strike deals with those on both sides of the legal divide. These people could provide essential information that Bailey and Ash are each eager to utilise. The Foundation may have been damaged but it still has reach. Many have been compromised. Not all Foundation members act due to the philanthropic recruitment promises of a societal wealth redistribution.

John Wallace is leading a nomadic life as he attempts to live under the radar and find a way to do good to assuage the guilt he feels at previous choices made. When Ash asks that they meet he is drawn back into the web of deception required if the Foundation is to be neutralised.

In a quiet corner of Arizona, the normally quiet and subdued Cheyanne has found comfort in a relationship she has quickly developed with new, local arrivals. Arno and Beth have set up home in a trailer located just outside town. They charge for private sessions in which clients talk out their problems. Cheyanne’s teenage daughter is conflicted by the resulting change in her mother. Encounters with Beth leave her suspicious of what the pair are planning which, when Arno’s history and location are discovered, leads to tragedy. With an eye on the power of the Foundation this pair harness the methods of cult leaders in their quest for acolytes.

The cat and mouse antics of these various players are portrayed in tense and violent encounters across London and locations in America. Ash and Bailey find more loyalty amongst their underworld contacts than with those who are looking at their careers and families – who may be susceptible to threats and bribery. This topsy turvy depiction of good and evil leaves the reader questioning the meanings of such categorisations.

“As he moved from a story about a bomb on a bus in Kabul, to a serial stabbing in London, a shooting at a school in Minneapolis, a family slaying in Florida, a drone attack in Yemen and an attack at a security checkpoint in Gaza, Rafa wondered whether the perpetrators all believed they were doing good.”

I felt a little frustrated that key men wished to be knights in shining armour, heading into battle to protect or avenge their women. There is a scene where one of our heroes seeks permission to divulge a secret that he may gain the trust of a woman he is sexually attracted to. These are, however, very human failings so have their place in the narrative.

I was wryly amused by the depictions of successful businessmen with their past shady dealings that enabled them to rise above their peers. There was bravery and honour amongst the gangsters and thieves despite their violence, drug dealing and arms sales. As is pointed out, governments are active in all of these areas, enabled by their self-declared legality.

Such questioning of the blurred lines around which laws are made and broken, and who is punished when lines are crossed, adds depth to the story. This remains though a hard hitting action thriller in which the reader can never be sure who will survive or who will be turned. It is a fine conclusion to a trilogy that sits firm within its popular genre yet punches seamlessly beyond. A recommended read.

My copy of this book was provided gratis by the publisher, Headline.